1.4.3

Types of Earthquake

Test yourself on Types of Earthquake

Test your knowledge with free interactive questions on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

Types of Earthquakes

Earthquakes happen within the Earth at different depths. There are 2 main types of earthquakes:

What is a shallow-focus earthquake?

What is a shallow-focus earthquake?

  • Shallow-focus earthquakes are earthquakes where the focus (the point underground where the energy radiates from) is close to the Earth's surface.
  • Shallow-focus earthquakes have a focus that is between 0km and 70km under the Earth's surface.
What is a deep-focus earthquake?

What is a deep-focus earthquake?

  • Deep-focus earthquakes are earthquakes where the focus (the point underground where the energy radiates from) is far away from the Earth's surface.
  • Deep-focus earthquakes have a focus that is more than 70km under the Earth's surface.
  • Deep-focus earthquakes usually happen at convergent plate margins, where crust has previously been forced downwards by another plate towards the Earth's core.
  • Deep-focus earthquakes are generally less damaging because the focus is so far from the Earth's surface.
What are underwater earthquakes?

What are underwater earthquakes?

  • Underwater earthquakes move the bottom of the sea (the seabed).
  • This can displace water and can create tsunamis (series of enormous waves).
  • Waves can pick up a lot of speed in deep oceans, so tsunamis like the one that hit Japan in 2011 can catch people off-guard and cause many deaths.
Jump to other topics
1

Physical Geography

1.1

River Environments

1.2

Coastal Environments

1.3

Hazardous Environments - Tropical Cyclones

1.4

Hazardous Environments - Earthquakes & Volcanoes

2

Human Geography

3

Global Issues

Practice questions on Types of Earthquake

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
Answer all questions on Types of Earthquake

Unlock your full potential with Seneca Premium

  • Unlimited access to 10,000+ open-ended exam questions

  • Mini-mock exams based on your study history

  • Unlock 800+ premium courses & e-books

Get started with Seneca Premium